Painting the House

[Hugh R]

I bought the place 16 years ago and painted it from chocolate brown to a light gray. It was time to do it again. Replaced a few weathered facia' boards and opened up part of the patio cover to a lattice, and had a contractor replace the rest of the patio roofing with what they call a "torch applied roofing" not shingles but a membrane and put n a few skylights. The first picture is about 2-1/2 years ago during a really, really rare snow dusting (last time in the area must have been 20 years ago at my old house, a few miles away).

Went from a gray to a lighter gray, darker trim and red-ish on the garage doors and other accents.

[jyl]

Did you do it yourself? Can you talk about what prep you did?

[herr_oberst]

I like the choices. The blue-grey barge boards really outline the roof lines nicely, and the red doors are a good compliment for the shingle color!

[sammyg2]

I was a house painter for 5 years.
I thought I'd never finish that house.


I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint. It came in the shape of a house.
S. Wright.



BTW, what the heck is that white stuff all over the lawn in the first pic? Did your house get TP'd or something?

[RWebb]

John - his prep ain't your prep

in PDX or elsewhere in the moldy PNW, you need to:

1. gently spray everything with a mix of bleach and soap, add some TSP also - it needs to stay wet for several hours so must not be too hot or in sun

2. after waiting for the bleach to zap the mold spores, pressure wash it then wait at least 3 days for it to dry

... but don't wait too long or it will get mold spores on it again

3. next go over all the surface with a fine-toothed comb and sand any bad areas - a cutoff disc tool works great for HD areas

4. spot prime - you may need that clear liquid stuff that can stretch well

5. use a sprayer to put the top coat up there, BUT you must roll it to make it penetrate

use high quality primer & top coat - I use the best or 2nd best product from Benji Moore

do the trim last; it will take 1 person all summer on a 2,000 ft2 house

[carambola]

do you understand that to a guy from south jersey, the title-painting the house, has a whole different meaning

[Hugh R]

Had a contractor do the work. I've used him for 25 years, his kids went to school with my kids. Hydroblast, two coats of primer, sealing most of the holes in the ship-lap siding, two coats of Dunn-Edwards best exterior paint. Replaced three rotted fence posts. Hydro-blasted about 300 feet of fencing (both sides) and did the same prep and paint. Ripped off 1/4 of the patio cover and replaced it (about 300 sq. ft.) re-roofed another 600 sq. ft. or so of patio cover. Replaced about 50 feet of facia board and will refinish both sides of my Oak front door. He's also putting in a 50 Amp outlet for the big ass RV, where I park it. $12,500. Might go a little higher with a few small change orders (the RV outlet). He is also licensed and bonded. He's taken about six weeks, slow, but very good. I'm not in a hurry.

[RWebb]

Hydroblast?

Hydroblast (Masters Edition) - Gatherer - Magic: The Gathering

[carambola]

why did you keep the tile bullnose?

[Hugh R]

You mean the roofing tile edging? Because its there and its doesn't leak, A good tile roof will last for 50+ years, I'm not inclined to re-roof at $20,000. BTW, it is pretty standard in Southern California to have that kind of tile roof. Doesn't catch on fire too much during brush fire season, although embers have been know to get under them.


Randy, saw your link, pressure washing might be a more exact term.

[jyl]

I will need to paint my house in the next year or two. Definitely not doing it myself, afraid of heights. One neighbor spent $40K on a total strip and paint that took three weeks, another spent $6K on a Chinese family business 3 day job. The $40K job looks better, but half is the paint color chosen (more subtle, harmonious). And it doesn't look 8X better. I think I'm leaning toward the Wongs.

[Hugh R]

JYL, Prep is the key.

[Zeke]

You have an enormous amount of room in the garage over the 2 bay part. I had one like that and built a mezzanine with drop down attic stairs. I almost put a shop up there but the weather wasn't too good.

SIL has one too and I built her a mezzanine complete with the ladder and a hand crank elevator lift.

[carambola]

would i be wrong if i said "it looks like you are getting ready to sell"

[john70t]

What about a lightweight ornamental feature/plaque over the garage door? eg "chez hughs":


The overhangs and ceramic tiles are great, but is there some type of vent system for hot summers?

[Hugh R]

Yeah I do have a large amount of room above the garage space. I also have about another 1,000 sq. ft. of attic space that I put in 2' by 8" flooring joists and 1" plywood. I thought about putting in more storage space above the garage, but I don't need it.

[dipso]

Looks good Hugh. Can I make a suggestion?
Remove the sunburst inserts on your garage door, they are just inserts and should pull out. You may have to use a putty knife or razor knife to separate them from the frame, if they are painted in. They are just plastic and so is the frame they are inserted in.
It is a pet peeve of mine and I remove them all the time.
You don't have any other sunburst patterns and your other windows are plain too. Your siding runs horizontal on the front and side of your house. You're windows should run horizontal too.
It will give you more natural light in the garage and make your house look wider.

I have seen french pane windows on the house and sunburst patterns on the garage door. It drives me crazy.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by carambola

would i be wrong if i said "it looks like you are getting ready to sell"

In about 5 years I'm looking to sell and retire. I'm thinking of moving to some where out of CA. (Idaho comes to mind) so I figured out that I might as well spruce it up now and enjoy it for a few years , and sell it while it still looks OK.

Then I'll put it on the Market and sell it , hopefully for stupid Los Angeles money. During the heights of the real estate boom it was valued at about a million, now about $750,000; maybe in 5 years, I can sell it for a million (again stupid LA money). I bought for $333,000 16 years ago, so I'm still ahead. I'm looking to pay off the 3.15% mortgage in about 4 years, about a year before I "retire".

[A930Rocket]

Great looking color combination!

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by john70t

What about a lightweight ornamental feature/plaque over the garage door? eg "chez hughs":


The overhangs and ceramic tiles are great, but is there some type of vent system for hot summers?

Yep, thermostatically actuated dormer fans for the attic. Kick in at about 100 F.